A pulsar in a binary with a compact object in the mass gap between neutron stars and black holes

Some compact objects observed in gravitational wave events have masses in the gap between known neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs). The nature of these mass gap objects is unknown, as is the formation of their host binary systems. We report pulsar timing observations made with the Karoo Array...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2024-01, Vol.383 (6680), p.275-279
Main Authors: Barr, Ewan D, Dutta, Arunima, Freire, Paulo C C, Cadelano, Mario, Gautam, Tasha, Kramer, Michael, Pallanca, Cristina, Ransom, Scott M, Ridolfi, Alessandro, Stappers, Benjamin W, Tauris, Thomas M, Venkatraman Krishnan, Vivek, Wex, Norbert, Bailes, Matthew, Behrend, Jan, Buchner, Sarah, Burgay, Marta, Chen, Weiwei, Champion, David J, Chen, C-H Rosie, Corongiu, Alessandro, Geyer, Marisa, Men, Y P, Padmanabh, Prajwal Voraganti, Possenti, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Binary stars
Black holes
Companion stars
Neutron stars
Pulsars
Star clusters
Supernovae
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Summary:Some compact objects observed in gravitational wave events have masses in the gap between known neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs). The nature of these mass gap objects is unknown, as is the formation of their host binary systems. We report pulsar timing observations made with the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) of PSR J0514-4002E, an eccentric binary millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster NGC 1851. We found a total binary mass of 3.887 ± 0.004 solar masses ( ), and multiwavelength observations show that the pulsar's binary companion is also a compact object. The companion's mass (2.09 to 2.71 , 95% confidence interval) is in the mass gap, indicating either a very massive NS or a low-mass BH. We propose that the companion formed in a merger between two earlier NSs.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adg3005